Summary (Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City)

Making Sense of Place – Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an

American City is a documentary about the deterioration in an American
city. Through the opinions of the Cleveland residents, the documentary
explores the interrelationships of individual choices, the democratic
process and market forces in the region. Many factors contribute to the
patterns of the last decades, including issues of race and class, taxes
and schools, and important changes in population.

The Making Sense of Place documentary focuses on the factors that

have led to
Cleveland and its inner suburb’s decline, the struggles that the city has
faced in confronting the challenge, the importance of economy and
quality of life in downtown areas, and how Cleveland’s experience is
similar to many other shrinking cities in the U.S.

The factors that have devastated Cleveland and its inner suburbs are
also the factors that have led to the decline of other post-industrial
cities. The actions of the city, community development groups,
businesses, and citizens determine the extent of the decline or success
of the city and its surrounding areas.

The documentary contributes differently to the shrinking cities dialogue

compared to research papers or periodicals. Literature and analyses
on shrinking cities are often geared toward practitioners and policy
makers. But what about the citizens who are impacted by the decline?
Since public awareness and outreach is critical in any rightsizing
strategies, the film does just that: it capitalizes on the benefits of
multimedia, and it raises public awareness and inspires citizens to play
an active role in improving their communities and quality of life.